“Nature Needs Half applies to the waters of the world as well as the land, from the tops of mountains to the greatest depths of the sea. More than half of the world is ocean, the blue heart of the planet. You decide: How much of your heart do you need to stay alive?” -Sylvia Earle, 2011 “Half the world for humanity, half for the rest of life, to make a planet both self-sustaining and pleasant.” -E.O. Wilson, The Future of Life, 2002 Protecting and interconnecting at least half of the planet, land and water, to support all life on earth is no small vision. Multimedia photojournalist Morgan Heim dives into what this bold, new conservation vision means with an inspiring combination of stunning photographs and powerful...

The Zoological Society of London – the world’s oldest and most renowned conservation science organization, working in over 50 countries – has joined with WILD to explore and illustrate how Nature Needs Half is both necessary and possible. “Space for Nature,” a video created by the Zoological Society of London (with participation from The WILD Foundation & Nature Needs Half), explores how the Nature Needs Half vision can be realized in practice by setting aside space for...

By: Sonja Krueger, Guest Editor Introduction The Maloti Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site (MDP WHS) is situated in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of the Republic of South Africa and is part of the Drakensberg – an inland mountain range in south-eastern Africa (Figure 1). The Park is a national and international asset due to its unique natural and cultural values, and as such it has been listed as a World Heritage Site of dual significance, one of only 28 properties to be listed as such. It is dominated by a mountain range of unique origins, and has a diverse range of ecological niches resulting in a rich biodiversity and a high number of endemic species. In addition, it is home to thousands of rock art paintings, a product of the San’s long historical relationship with this mountain environment. The Drakensberg catchment area is of major economic importance as it contributes significantly to the flow of the uThukela, uMkhomazi and uMzimkhulu Rivers, the three largest catchments in KwaZulu-Natal. It plays a key role in the economy of KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa, through the production of high quality water from its dense network of wetlands and rivers (hence its designation as a Ramsar Site in 1996), the sustainable use of natural resources, and by serving as a core destination for the tourism industry. The Park forms a key component of the Maloti Drakensberg Transfrontier Project (MDTP), which has been initiated as a collaborative programme between the governments of the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa. As part of achieving the transfrontier vision of the MDTP the Park...

The Tracks of Giants expedition is an initiative of Nature Needs Half. Following ancient African elephant migration paths, Tracks of Giants, is a 5 month west to east journey connecting major conservation nodes to promote a greater awareness of conservation, human community and leadership issues relevant to southern Africa, and applicable to many areas of the world. The journey aims to rekindle the rapidly declining indigenous knowledge base of the human – animal interface, and indigenous solutions to conservation challenges and issues. The team will be carrying an elephant collar throughout the journey, which is linked to a GPS tracking device–you can follow them live on the map! The collar will be donated to Elephants Without Borders at the end of the expedition. A team of trackers, conservationists and media will travel by foot, cycle (in regions outside of conservation areas and wildlife parks) and kayak in the Okavango Delta and Zambezi through eight major conservation nodes. Along the way, they will meet with local communities, work with partners, survey and document animal movements and conservation issues. Tracks of Giants & Nature Needs Half from The WILD Foundation on...

Nature Needs Half and WILD10 Editorial, International Journal of Wilderness, Vance G. Martin, December, 2011, www.ijw.org How much space does nature really need? This question has increasingly been the focus of conservation biologists and many others as the natural sciences have scaled up to consider nature from a landscape and seascape perspective, and in the process gaining a much better understanding of ecological services. Professor E. O. Wilson adroitly alluded to this in his seminal work The Future of Life (2002) when he said, “Half the world for humanity, half for the rest of life, to create a planet both self-sustaining and pleasant.” As a result of this growing scientific consensus, an initiative called Nature Needs Half was launched at WILD9, the 9th World Wilderness Congress (WWC) at Meridá, Mexico, in 2009. It is now being explored in different ways by numerous experts, groups, and communities around the world, and we present in this issue a European perspective from Dr. Magnus Sylven. As a member of the Executive Committee making initial plans for the 10th World Wilderness Congress, and on behalf of The WILD Foundation and our many collaborators, Magnus also gives us a preliminary insight into one of the core agendas for WILD10, proposed for Europe in late 2013. A formal announcement on the date and venue is expected shortly. >>Read the full...